


Trust

by poecameron



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-03
Updated: 2016-02-03
Packaged: 2018-05-18 00:14:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5890606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poecameron/pseuds/poecameron
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>General Organa comes to Finn with a choice, one that he has to make for himself. Before he does however, he consults with Poe Dameron to see what the pilot thinks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trust

It had been almost two weeks since Finn’s release from the medbay before General Organa finally approached him. In those two weeks, he had carved himself a small, but noticeable place among the Resistance’s numbers. He had been bunking with Poe, an arrangement brought up by the pilot himself, and was even starting to form a few tentative friendships around the base. He was struggling however, with the idea of moving from one army to another. Was he just placing himself back into the cogs of the same machine, only with a different coat of paint? What made this place so different from the First Order?

Well, they actually invested time and supplies in his health and injuries. That’s definitely an improvement over being jettisoned out the airlock for something as little as a broken arm, or even a severe fever.

The General knocked on Finn and Poe’s shared door while Poe was away training with his squadron, no doubt intentional on the General’s part. She waited for Finn to answer, a gesture that struck him as strange for a military leader.

“Come in,” Finn said.  He held the door open for the General, who smiled and entered the dormitory with soft, precise footsteps. 

“Finn, it’s good to see you looking so healthy.” The General stood near the center of the room and surveyed the scene before her.  Whatever she was looking for, Finn had no clue, but he could see that investigatory look on her face. It made him feel a little uneasy and self-conscious.

“Thanks,” Finn said, hoping to appease whatever concern was plaguing her. “And thank you again for letting me stay, General.”

“Of course, why wouldn’t we? You’re a hero, Finn.”

Finn digested those words for a few seconds, his mind going blank.  Poe had said almost the exact same thing to him the other night in the privacy of their room, but Poe was all compassion and gratitude. This time the words had come from General Organa, a woman who was simultaneously known for both her incredible acts of heroism and her keen eye for politics. She was not a woman who spoke without considering the weight of her words.

“I mean, I helped sure, but Rey defeated Kylo Ren!” Finn said, his tongue moving faster than his thoughts could manage. “And Poe blew up Starkiller! Even the charges to blow up the shields were set by Chewbacca and…”

Before Finn could apologize for almost bringing up Han Solo, the General shushed him and let out a small chuckle.

“Finn. You provided us with invaluable information that helped us win that battle. You fought through Starkiller base, risking your very life for our cause.” The General stepped closer to Finn with each word, placing a warm hand on his shoulder once she was close enough. “You withstood years of conditioning and inhumane treatment, and then defied it all to save my best pilot.”

“But…none of that was. I mean I didn’t…” Finn tripped over his words, unsure of what he was trying to prove.

“You are a hero Finn, and the whole Resistance sees you that way, even if you don’t think so yourself.”

“With respect General, that can’t be possible. I used to be a stormtrooper, and I know for a fact you guys don’t get along great with them.” Finn said, almost whispering when he mentioned his past, as if the entire base wasn’t already in on the secret.

“So? We take all kinds here. You think you’re the first defector from the First Order?” The General smirked, and huffed out a laugh. “Finn, you may be our first former Stormtrooper, but others have fled the First Order and come to us for safety in the past.  Nobody here will judge you on where you came from, only on what you do.”

“Which isn’t much. Most of my time so far has been spent in the medbay or lying around here.” Finn said, gesturing to the entirety of Poe’s room, an exasperated laugh escaping him.

“You were gravely injured Finn, nobody would expect you to be back in the fray this quickly.”

Another difference from the First Order then, Finn noted.

“Okay fine, say I agree with you for the time being. I’m a hero of the Resistance,” Finn said, faking a smile and waving his arms in the air. “That doesn’t necessarily mean you all should be so nice to me. Where are the armed guards, or the shifty looks? Instead you let me roam your base, sleeping in the same room as your most valuable pilot! Why?”

The General paused a moment, studying Finn in a way that made him feel vulnerable. She was Luke Skywalker’s sister, after all.

“I trust you,” she said.

That was it? A galaxy-wide conflict between good and evil, centuries of conflict and strife threatening to tear it all apart, and yet she trusts him? Hero of the rebellion, force sensitive, and all around badass General of the Resistance trusts him.

“You trust me?” Finn asked, dumbfounded.

His question was met with rolling eyes in response.

“Yes, I trust you. You are trustworthy. You’re a good person and I can see that.”

The General was being kind, but her tone was frustrated. It was the same voice he had heard her use when she spoke with Han.

“Sorry, I’m just not used to that,” Finn said.

“Used to what?” the General asked, her brow creasing.

“Trust.”

It must be the force, Finn thought. She can read his thoughts, knows he won’t betray them, and that’s why she trusts him. That has to be the explanation.

“Well you will get used to it if you stay,” the General said, all frustration replaced by care and concern. “Though this isn’t why I came to talk with you today, Finn.”

“It’s not?”

“No. I came to talk to you about your intentions. What you plan on doing, or where you plan on going,” the General said, taking a seat in Poe’s lounging chair. She motioned for Finn to take a seat on the bed near her, so he did.

“Well I guess” Finn paused, looked down at his hands and held them together. “I’m not sure. I was waiting for Rey, but…”

“You can’t wait for her forever, Finn. You need to make a choice for yourself; you have that power now, outside of the First Order.” The General hummed something to herself, nodding. “You are welcome to stay of course, we would be honored to count you among our ranks. Or, should you choose, I can have one of my pilots fly you to a system in the outer rim where you can try to start a new life.”

“You would do that? A former First Order soldier has seen the ins and outs of your whole operation, and you would just let him go?” Finn said, the shock written across his face.

“We’ve been over the idea of trust, Finn. Please don’t make me repeat myself.”

Finn had a choice to make. A choice earned from his own actions, not the illusion of choice given from a superior. A choice that would forever affect whatever remaining years he had left.

Although, he had been making a lot of those recently.

“Can I think it over?” Finn asked, honestly not sure what the General’s response would be.

“Of course. You might want to discuss it with a certain friend of yours. I think he would want to know,” the General said.

“Poe?”

The General rolled her eyes.

“Yes. Poe.” She stood from the chair and walked towards the door, but turned to face Finn before leaving. “If you decide to leave, break it gently to him. He cares far too quickly, and far too strongly and he…”

Finn thought the General looked at a loss for words, which he understood was probably not a common sight.

“He is like a son to me,” she finally muttered.

Finn wished he didn’t understand all that she was implying, but he did. He knew all too well the implications of the General’s words.

“I’ll talk to him, I promise.”

 

 

 

 

Finn was sitting on his bunk, reading historical articles on Poe’s datapad. It was difficult to unlearn all the propaganda shoved down your throat by the First Order. He was in the middle of one about Obi-Wan Kenobi’s efforts during the Clone Wars when the door to the room opened and Poe stepped in with one foot, his back facing Finn.

“Don’t forget, you owe me that drink tonight Snap!” Poe yelled down the hallway. He then turned into the room and shut the door behind him, smiling up at Finn once he noticed him. “Hey buddy! Whatcha reading there?”

Finn shuffled to his left to make room for Poe, who sat down next to him with a force that knocked their shoulders and knees together for just a moment.

“Just reading about Obi-Wan Kenobi. Seems like he was a crazy guy,” Finn said, angling the datapad towards Poe.

“Mhmm,” Poe nodded. “Leia has told me some things about him. He did a lot of good, and received almost no recognition for it.”

While Finn really did want to hear these stories about Obi-Wan Kenobi, he knew that he needed to talk to Poe before anything interrupted them. The way the other pilots in their wing were, Jessika and Snap especially, that could be any second.

“I have to talk to you Poe,” Finn said, setting the datapad down and standing up. He paced around the room for a few seconds before facing the man. “It’s important.”

Poe, the damn angel, held eye contact and radiated pure acceptance for whatever Finn was about to say. No wariness, no judgement, nothing.

“Finn, whatever it is, you can talk to me.”

“The General visited while you were gone,” Finn said. Not quite what he wanted to start with, but at least it was still on topic.

Poe quickly did a double take of the room.

“What did she want?” he asked.

“She gave me a choice,” he said slowly, trying to decide how best to word what came next. “She says I can stay here and join the Resistance, or I can have a pilot fly me to the Outer Rim and start over.”

Poe was quiet. Finn was quiet. The silence hung between them, nearly suffocating Finn.

“She’s right, you do have a choice,” Poe said, suddenly no longer making eye contact. “Have you decided yet?”

“That’s it?” Finn was suspecting more of a reaction from the pilot. “And here I thought you’d be begging me to stay, telling me the Outer Rim smells like mynock, I don’t know. You just want to know what I’ve decided?”

Poe stood this time, taking a step forward and stopping no more than a foot in front of Finn.

“Hear me out buddy. If it was my choice, of course I would have you stay.” Poe reached a hand out and laid it on Finn’s shoulder, the touch warm and grounding. “But that’s the whole point, right? It’s not my choice, it’s yours. You finally get to decide what to do with your life, and I don’t want you to stay only because I asked. You’re a free man Finn, and you deserve all the perks that comes with; clingy Resistance pilots are not one of them.”

The two men were quiet. Poe’s hand stayed on Finn’s shoulder, and he realized then that the warmth had spread and filled his entire being, body and soul.

This stupid, moronic pilot had kept his feelings held back because he thought he was doing Finn a favor. What a damn idiot. What a beautiful, wonderfully caring idiot.

“I just hope that if you choose to leave, you’ll let me be the one to fly you out there,” Poe said quietly, his eyes dropping to the floor, and a blush creeping across his cheeks. “So I can be the last one to say goodbye.”

“So you’d let me do it, just pack up and leave?” Finn smirked, unbeknownst to Poe who was still studying the bedroom floor. “Just like that?”

Poe sighed.

“I just want what is best for you Finn, and I trust you to know what that is.”

There was that word again. The General was right, Finn thought.

“You trust me?”

“And more,” Poe said.

Finn, unable to take it any longer, held a finger underneath Poe’s chin and tilted the man’s face up. When their eyes met, there was a hint of doubt behind Poe’s gaze.

“I trust you, too.”

And then Finn was kissing Poe, his lips soft and welcoming, just like every other part of Poe that Finn knew. After a slight delay, Poe began returning the kiss, wrapping both arms down and behind Finn’s lower back, pulling the two of them together. Finn moved his hand to the back of Poe’s neck and deepened the kiss for just a moment before parting, and resting their foreheads together.

“I gotta be honest buddy, that was not where I thought this conversation was headed,” Poe said, chuckling.

“Disappointed?” Finn laughed.

“Not in the slightest,” Poe said quickly.

“How long have you wanted to do that?” Finn was still trying to catch his breath, but he pulled his head back and looked at the man before him.

“I don’t know, maybe a couple weeks? It’s hard to say.”

“I can tell you’re lying Dameron,” Finn said, narrowing his eyes.

“The Finalizer. When you took off your helmet and I saw my rescuer for the first time, my first thought was that I was so happy I could kiss you.” Poe looked shy while talking, the notorious Poe Dameron bravado and charm nowhere to be found.

Finn grinned, wide and happy. He kissed Poe again, quick and chaste.

“I can’t believe you were going to let me leave without telling me how you felt. You selfless jerk.” Finn lightly punched Poe in the shoulder.

“I had to. You needed to be able to make a choice, and have something that was yours and yours alone,” Poe said.

“But I do. I have a few things that are mine, and mine alone.” Finn tilted his head and smiled. “My name, for starters. Sure you picked it, but I chose to keep it, and it belongs to me.”

Poe nodded, matching Finn’s smile.

“And this jacket. Sure, it was yours once upon a time, but I think taking a lightsaber to the back has bonded us to one another. Sorry, but this jacket’s mine now.”

Poe laughed, running his hand down the sleeve of Finn’s jacket.

“And now you, Poe Dameron. I’ve got you.” Finn stared into the other man’s eyes, willing Poe to understand how important this was for him. “That’s my choice. You.”

Poe’s face went from calm to ecstatic in a flash, a giant toothy grin unashamedly stretching from ear to ear. He jolted forward and wrapped Finn up in his arms, tucking his face into the crook of Finn’s neck.

“For the record,” Poe mumbled into Finn’s neck. “I think that’s a damn fine choice.”

And it was. It was the finest choice Finn had ever made, and it belonged to him, and always would. Truth be told, he hadn’t really needed time to think it over. He had only asked the General so that Poe could be the first person he told because, whether Poe approved or not, he was the catalyst for the decision. When Finn thought about leaving for the Outer Rim, all he could think about was how empty the galaxy would be without Poe. Without Rey. Without the General, or BB-8, or Chewie, or Jessika and Snap.

Without trust.

Poe led them both to sit on his bed. Taking Finn’s hand, he layered their fingers together and squeezed tight.

“Well since you’re on a roll with decision making tonight, what do you want to do now? Stay in and read more about Obi-Wan Kenobi?” Poe asked.

“Didn’t I hear you say Snap owes you a drink?” Finn grinned.

“That he does,” Poe said, chuckling.

“Why don’t we go out then, redeem that free drink, and break the news to them.”

“About you staying with the Resistance?” Poe asked.

“Yeah sure, that too.”

And so Finn and Poe did find their way to the cantina on base, and they told the others about Finn’s decisions. They celebrated both with loud fanfare and a seemingly never ending supply of alcohol, although they all admitted that nobody was surprised to hear about the two of them finally getting together.

Poe walked towards the table Finn was sitting at with two drinks in his hands. He set one down in front of Finn that was purple, and had an unfamiliar tiny blue fruit sticking out of the top.

“If you don’t like it, you don’t have to drink it,” Poe said, holding up an orange colored drink in his own hand.

Finn grabbed his glass, and clinked it with Poe’s.

“It’s alright, I trust you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me: robert-joseph-maccready.tumblr.com


End file.
